Teacher Shannon Charbarneau works Monday with ninth-grader Jorge Torres on a speech in Charbarneau's intermediate English Language Learners class at Wausau West High School.

Written by

Minority students in the Wausau School District - almost 30 percent of the student population - lag significantly behind their white peers, reflecting the racial achievement gap that affects students across the state and nation.

Educators say the reasons for the racial achievement gap are complicated and challenging. English is the second language for many of Wausau's minority students, particularly Asian and Hispanic children. Minority students are more likely to come from economically disadvantaged homes, meaning they might not be as exposed to as many learning experiences ...